This invention relates to a window assembly including a rigid structural support sized to fit within a portion of the window and acting as an attachment bar. More specifically, the present invention concerns an aluminum extrusion having an extension coacting with a fastener, said extrusion being inserted within a plastic box-like girder for providing additional structural support to the window assembly.
Plastic or rigid vinyl-type windows have been found advantageous for many reasons. Plastic is typically utilized as a construction material for windows because it requires low maintenance and has good heat transfer characteristics in that the thermal transmittance between the space to be conditioned and the ambient is low. Metal windows although capable of requiring low levels of maintenance are not particularly effective at preventing heat transfer Wood windows although effective at preventing heat transfer typically require a high level of maintenance.
In order to effectively utilize plastic windows, it has been found that a box girder construction is particularly suitable. To provide additional structural strength under conditions where necessary, such as in larger-sized windows, reinforcing supports made of a rigid material such as aluminum, may be utilized.
In some plastic windows it has been found necessary to utilize screw attachment bars for providing a firm anchor for screws extending through a plastic member for securing means to lock the window in a closed position. Merely screwing a latch into the plastic provides an opportunity for easy break-in by merely forcing the window and stripping the screw from the plastic. Hence, a metallic bar extending across the plastic member has been used such that significant force is required before the latch can be displaced from the window.
The herein structural support is designed to include an extension portion which serves as a screw attachment bar such that an integral extrusion not only provides structural support, but serves an additional function. This same integral piece may be used in other areas of the window, specifically in those areas where the screw attachment extension serves to provide structural support adjacent a lift bar or handle portion of a sash assembly of the window.
The herein structural support also includes a screw boss for receipt of a fastener extending through a vertical rail into the support. This arrangement acts to dramatically incraese the corner strength of the window and ties the vertical rail to the support.